Scotia Jamaica Foundation celebrates 20 years
AFTER 20 years, the ScotiaFoundation remains committed to its objectives of supporting nation-building interventions to improve education and health care and promoting community development. Established on February 13, 1996, with an endowment fund of J$100 million ScotiaFoundation focuses on development, particularly of youth, through sports, education and health care.
According to Joylene Griffiths Irving, director, corporate social responsibility and executive director, ScotiaFoundation at Scotiabank Jamaica, it is important to continue the work they have been doing because they make a difference in the lives of those who really need assistance.
DREAMS TO REALITY
“There are students who otherwise would never have had the opportunity to attend high school or pursue tertiary education. Joylene Griffiths Irving (front right), executive director, ScotiaFoundation, poses with the 2016 beneficiaries of scoliosis surgeries and the hospital team. The presentations to the beneficiaries were made at the Kingston Public Hospital recently. They could dream about it development, culture and protection the staging of its own Nutrition before but those dreams became of the environment. The for Learning Week. a reality through the 31 projects spearheaded by the Some 1,545 children at nine ScotiaFoundation,” Griffiths Foundation have positively beneficiary schools in four Irving said. impacted more than 13,000 parishes this year enjoyed a
The ScotiaFoundation has children. double treat when national maintained its strategic focus on Investing in education, leaders, as well as foundation
according to Griffiths Irving, enhancing the quality of life for directors and senior managers,
is one of the most powerful the nation’s children and has who visited their schools, prepared
agents of social and economic recorded some 12,790 volunteer and served breakfast. transformation. Since its hours on projects which promote Under the Scoliosis and Spine
inception in 1999, the Shining education, child health and Care Programme, the foundation
Star Scholarships awarded to and its partner, -Medical wellness, sports and community outstanding performers in the
Technologies Limited, covered annual Grade Six
the cost of the life-saving Achievement Test, has opened
surgery for 10 youngsters opportunities for educational
between ages 14 and 18 at advancement to many youngsters.
the Kingston Public Hospital. A total of 113 students are currently benefitting from This totals 75 beneficiaries ScotiaFoundation Shining Star since the programme began. Scholarships at the secondary The foundation also and tertiary levels. continues to support the Salvation Army’s annual Christmas Red Kettle Drive, one of the group’s longstanding commitments, with support including collections in branches islandwide.The ScotiaFoundation also focuses on the environment through the Scotia Goes Green programme.
WORK HARD
“The communities that many of these children live in look up to them as achievers and leaders and see them as an example which reaffirms their desire to be more determined to work hard and be successful,” Griffiths Irving said.
The foundation has rebranded its breakfast programme with Prime Minister Andrew Holness gives a warm greeting to Audrey Tugwell-Henry, senior general manager for retail banking at the National Commercial Bank (NCB), after they both addressed local and overseas delegates, visiting from over 40 countries, attending the three-day Foromic Conference held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre recently. NCB was the diamond sponsor. SENIOR GENERAL manager for retail banking at the National Commercial Bank (NCB), Audrey TugwellHenry, said it was a blessing for Jamaica to have been chosen to host the Foromic Conference.
She predicts that there will be significant benefits to be seized by micro, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) in Jamaica in the medium-to long-term period.
“Foromic gave us a tremendous opportunity to showcase Jamaica and its positiveness to include a stable democracy, an open economy, a strong financial network that is robustly regulated and a strong relationship with the International Monetary Fund,” TugwellHenry affirmed.
The highly respected threeday Foromic Conference was held in Montego Bay last week.
Foromic is considered the most important annual event to be held in Latin America and the Caribbean, which addresses microfinance, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion and development of micro, small and microfinance enterprises within the region.
Established in 1998, the Multilateral Investment Fund , a member of the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) has staged conferences in Latin America annually for the past 18 years. Jamaica was hosting the conference for the first time in its history.
“We see it as an avenue to let other countries within the region be aware of the potentials and the networking opportunities that exist in Jamaica.
We also see it as an opportunity to explore opportunities, which MSMEs in Jamaica and the region can benefit from,” Tugwell-Henry added.
Tugwell-Henry said that for decades, NCB had built a firm reputation of being a huge supporter of MSMEs and to demonstrate their commitment to being a part of the development and growth of the MSME sector in Jamaica, NCB has built a unit dedicated to achieving this objective.
To have earned the title as diamond sponsor of the Foromic conference did not come cheaply for NCB, who sees it as not an expense, but a prudent investment for MSMEs and Jamaica as a whole.